Photojournalism has a completely different way of operating, compared to other styles of photography. Many aspects of the photo are considered, before being chosen and paired with an article or story. Phillip Gefter, picture editor of the New York Times' front page discusses the process he goes through for choosing photos. Discussing photos is thrilling to him, and he loves doing it. For example, when it comes to a political story he considers the subjects and their body language, energy, facial expressions, etc. When choosing photographs, he finds it most important to reveal truth and authenticity regardless of his personal opinions or popular opinion.
Edward Steichen and Margaret Bourke-White set the precedence for the "visual tone" for photojournalism, which included bold lines, sharp lighting, and simple compositions. Diane Arbus, published photography that was blurred, grainy, and raw, challenging the polished look of magazine photography. By 1967, John Szarkowski described photojournalism as "a new generation" of photographers whose "aim has not been to reform life, but to know it."
New York photographers, specifically those who have done work for Look Magazine, were examples of artists who collaborated with their subjects, which then led to their advancement and success. Stanley Kubrick in particular, is an intriguing photojournalist who captured Roosevelt's death and had it published in Look at only age seventeen. His series of boxers and showgirls is especially interesting and inspiring to several artists, including myself.
The first essential points a photo editor looks for when choosing photos for the paper are who, what, where, when, and why. After that, they look at what the photo is about and how it looks. Photojournalism has a specific intention compared to art. Photojournalism is reporting on facts and events for editorial purposes. But sometimes it can be tough to pick the correct photo depending on the piece of news being written about. People tend to comprehend photos by formulating a series of words and ideas in their heads, then piecing it together, as opposed to conceptually interpreting the work. There is a tension between words and pictures because some find the journalism in the writing, while others find it in the photo evidence. There is a marriage between the two, that make a successful journalism piece.
Keeping photos alive are a huge part of being a photographer, even as a photojournalist. Cornell Capa, founder of the International Center of Photography was haunted by this idea after the death of his brother Robert who was killed on assignment in Indochina in 1954. He wanted nothing more than to make his work stay alive. He then became a photographer for Life magazine and believed that he was "to be a photographer for peace." After his own death, he was quoted: "There are two things I wanted to do. I wanted to show the things that needed to be corrected. And I wanted to show the things that needed to be appreciated."
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Lund: Reading Response 3
Photojournalism
Page One: A Conversation with Philip Gefter, Picture Editor of the New York Times' Front Page
Philip Gefter has an extremely important job that takes hours of careful consideration every day. After looking at hundreds of photos a day Gefter has to find a balance between his fine art training and real photojournalism. He brings a balance to the front page that "works both journalistically and visually". I find it interesting that he originally did not like the addition of color to the front page but he now loves it. What I am curious about, is how well his paper is doing and how much longer he will actually be overlooking the front page of the print version of the Times'. I wonder this because print media is a dying thing and most people consume their news online at this point. Though I do not think it would be too difficult to transfer into an all technological world for this job.
History's First Draft Looks Much Better With Pictures
This article talks about how photojournalism has shaped the way we look at history. In the past all that a man would experience was what happened around him. But with the invention of photography and including it in the paper or other print media, we begin to share knowledge and news with something that the language barrier does not influence. What I found very interesting was that the subject was the most important part of photojournalism. When I thought about this a little more it began to make a lot of sense. Even though the rest of photography is important such as exposure, composition, sharpness, etc. what dominated all of that was capturing the moment that told the strongest story. Some of photojournalism’s best moments depict photographs that people can link to the corresponding story or moment without knowing much about the story itself. Such as the couple kissing in Times Square representing the end of the war. Moments such as these are collected together along with their original text in a book titled Things as They Are: Photojournalism in Context Since 1955
Reflections of New York's Luckiest: Look Magazine
Look magazine established a style of its own thy followed the lives of ordinary people. This is in contrast to its competitor LIFE magazine. They never shyed away from the goofy human interest stories and also shifted their direction after WWII to more family stories and photographs. The museum exhibit Willing to Be Lucky presented 130 photographs of artists, dancers, actors, architects, showgirls, boxers, and eccentrics. This exhibit made a point that magazine editors, art directors, and photographers have attempted to create compelling images that helped advance careers.
Reading Newspaper Pictures: A Thousand Words and Then Some
A photograph is nothing unless the viewer understands what the importance is of what they are looking at. In this article Gefter discusses the importance of captioning in photojournalism. "Some people need to know what they're looking at before they can appreciate it" If someone were to show you a photograph of a girl holding a dog and crying you might be compelled to feel pathos towards the girl. However, if a caption followed the imaged and said “Girl reunites with dog after two years” we immediately begin to have a greater understanding for the photograph as well as a wider range of emotions to be felt because we can begin to connect with the contents. People appreciate the photos better when they know the story of an image. The purpose of photography should not be to capture a subject, but to capture the story of the subject with the use of photos
Cornel Capa, Photojournalist and Museum Founder Dies at Ninety.
"I wanted to show things that needed to be corrected. I wanted to show the things that needed to be appreciated." Cornel Capa was a huge part of Life Magazine and had a long running career in photojournalism. His family also partook in the photo industry as his older brother (Robert Capa) was a photographer as well. He was big into photography with politics and social justice. Mr. Capa wanted to be a photographer of peace and his morals and influences on the world actually have little to do with an artistic ability. Rather he captured what people needed to see. From the day his brother died he worried about that would happen to the work of photographers after they die.
Response:
Photojournalism is certainly an interesting realm. Finding the balance between art and stories is something that I myself am capable of. I feel as if I don’t quite have the artistic eye of the fine art photographer. Nor am I really literate enough to write the stories that my photographs my need like these people. But capturing that pivotal moment that tells a story with visuals only and it not too deep or does not take too much analysis is something that I aspire to be able to do in the future. Create a sort of simplistic beauty that can be enhanced with words. These photojournalists are inspiring and only make me want to follow my dream more.
Lund: Reading Response 2
Photographic Icons: Fact, Fiction, or Metaphor?
This section is a good beginning for a chapter titled The Staged Document. In this section we read many examples of how the moment that was captured was either fabricated to prove a point or asked to be reenacted. While these pictures may look good and even published, they don't capture the moment like photographers in the past prided themselves so much on. Manipulating the scene allowed the photographer to achieve what they wanted, but it does not make the sense authentic in real time.
The Picnic That Never Was
Fabricated scenes are one of Beate Gütschow specialities. She constructs landscapes using multiple images and they end up looking very natural! There are other photographers who do this as well such as Loretta Lux, who makes portraits of German children digitally inserted into painted backgrounds. This mixture of multiple frames or mediums is an interesting one for sure and blurs the lines between artists who use photographs and photographers that make art.
As Unpretty as a Picture
The marriage of two competing mediums is what Eric Fischl strives to achieve. Eric has been "establishing a photographic vocabulary within the realm of painting" I'm going to be honest, this reading is odd and I'm not totally sure what to feel about it.
Moments in Time, Yet Somehow in Motion
JoAnn Verburg did something very interesting with photography that must have took a great deal of time and effort. She created a large collection of then-and-now images from other photographers in the past. Additionally, she used similar technology or even the exact same technology that the original photographer had used. In her younger years she explored with the art of photography as well and attempted to create “still lifes that were supposed to look as though they hadn’t been arranged”. Also, I really enjoy the way she split up the frames in her olive tree picture. I’ve always wanted to do something similar to this but have simply never gotten around to it.
This section is a good beginning for a chapter titled The Staged Document. In this section we read many examples of how the moment that was captured was either fabricated to prove a point or asked to be reenacted. While these pictures may look good and even published, they don't capture the moment like photographers in the past prided themselves so much on. Manipulating the scene allowed the photographer to achieve what they wanted, but it does not make the sense authentic in real time.
The Picnic That Never Was
Fabricated scenes are one of Beate Gütschow specialities. She constructs landscapes using multiple images and they end up looking very natural! There are other photographers who do this as well such as Loretta Lux, who makes portraits of German children digitally inserted into painted backgrounds. This mixture of multiple frames or mediums is an interesting one for sure and blurs the lines between artists who use photographs and photographers that make art.
As Unpretty as a Picture
The marriage of two competing mediums is what Eric Fischl strives to achieve. Eric has been "establishing a photographic vocabulary within the realm of painting" I'm going to be honest, this reading is odd and I'm not totally sure what to feel about it.
Moments in Time, Yet Somehow in Motion
JoAnn Verburg did something very interesting with photography that must have took a great deal of time and effort. She created a large collection of then-and-now images from other photographers in the past. Additionally, she used similar technology or even the exact same technology that the original photographer had used. In her younger years she explored with the art of photography as well and attempted to create “still lifes that were supposed to look as though they hadn’t been arranged”. Also, I really enjoy the way she split up the frames in her olive tree picture. I’ve always wanted to do something similar to this but have simply never gotten around to it.
Robet Polidoi: In the Studio
Polidori believes that his work contains a lot of pathos. Because of the lack of people in his photographs this may seem odd at first, but once he explains it, it really does begin to make a lot of sense. “We have lived beyond our means economically as well as ecologically, pathos is a natural response.” He likes to play with the meaning of composition. The balance between what is in the frame and what is not has a emphasized sense of power over his photos. I think he looks at a photo a lot more than I do. However, he has no formal photography training and learned all he did simply for the love of it. He has also photographed only in color and is known for his rich saturated images.
A Young Man With an Eye, and Friends Up a Tree
Young photographer Ryan McGinley has taken an approach new to me in the realm of photography. Or perhaps it is not so new. He photographs the life he wishes he was living. Creating an alternate reality to what actually exists. He is a bold young man who simply loves creating art and images that do not already exist yet. His subjects are primarily his friends and a lot of the time he photographs them nude or in very comfortable situations. Just a side note, he is not the kind of photographer you want to google in the UO library. His images portrait risque situations from parties, to drugs, and even sex. Ryan also takes his photography on the road shooting massive amounts of film documenting the lives and activities of himself and his friends. He was not just the photographer of these situations, he was the centerpiece of it all and he captured the happenings around him.
Overall Response
This section is definitely better than the previous section. The stories told here were more artistic and abstract. We have left the realm of photography regarding the structure of it and have moved into a surreal art form that I think of when I think of photography today. One thing I noticed is that none of these people ever shoot digital. Perhaps it is an old world thing to shoot digital. But I however do. I think that film may have something special about it that I am missing, but I have no desire to find that special something. I instead wish to find my own something, just as these photographers have done themselves. Creatively crafting their shots to seem real whether they are or not is something that seems strange to me though. I’d much rather “Capture the moment” and not have to fabricate something. Perhaps that is why I am so interested in sports photography.
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